I'm on day 16 of my 10mg fluoxetine journey but officially only on my 14th dose because on day 6 of flu, I finally got a consultation with a psychiatrist and he switched me to the generic of Zoloft (sertraline). Unfortunately, I had a bad reaction so was back on flu two days later.

I have been feeling horrible since I started taking flu and it seems to only be getting worse with a new side effect every day or so.I know people say the first few weeks are horrible and it gets better but honestly I can't see the light at the end if the tunnel.

These are my current side-effects:

- Severe insomnia (I can usually sleep maybe 2 hours and then I wake up and toss and turn the rest of the night).

- Nausea/no appetite (When I try to eat I feel even more nauseous and the smell of food makes me gag)

- Chills/Feel cold but don't have a fever

- occasional shivering/shaking in my legs and arms (mostly legs)

- Horrible Headaches

- Brain fog

- Teeth clenching/jaw pain

- Heartburn

And my latest symptom is the one that is really bugging me....I started having a permanent lump in my throat. It makes it hard to swallow and eat.

I don't have a sleeping aid except a benzo (clonazepam) and honestly I had not been taking any for 3 days because I am afraid of benzos due to all the horror stories I heard.

My psychiatrist told me to stop being stupid and to take some when I feel panic/anxiety. :/

It's not doing much for sleep but I only take 0.25mg.

I caved and took 0.25mg last night which is a small dose but it didn't help with sleep because here I am at 4:20am am typing away.

So, are these side effects too much or should I just keep going ? My pdoc tells me to not be a hero but I'm afraid of starting another SSRI because i am very sensitive to SSRIs and have had bad reactions to a few.

I was also thinking that maybe this generic is causing most of the side effects because I took another generic for a few months approx. 10 years ago and did not have these side effects at all. Maybe a switch to Prozac would make a difference?

As a current user, I have had a lot of experience with Prozac and the 'quirky nature' of Fluoxetine - but after numerous medications - It has worked the best so far me with Panic Attacks, Anxiety, OCD and even the ability to think more clearly.

I'm on day 16 of my 10mg fluoxetine journey but officially only on my 14th dose

Prozac was the first of the SSRI medications, but also IMHO one of the best. I had to start on 5 mg. because I was very sensitive to medications and temporary side effect. (My Dr. had me open a 10 mg. capsule and mix it with apple juice and drink only half of it)

Prozac is by far the most "energizing" antidepressants - which in my case caused more anxiety and muscle tension, at the beginning of treatment.

With only 14 days, you will need to go at least another solid 30 days to build-up enough in your system for it to start working. Then, your doctor might increase to the standard 20 mg dose. At higher dosages 40 mg per day for me, it is extremely helpful for OCD.

When I first started I had all the side-effects you have listed, Prozac - unlike other SSRI such as Zoloft or Paxil - is much more "energizing" and this temporary side effect will go away in time, but when starting Prozac - It became a necessity for me to take clonazepam (Klonopin) for the first 30 days until the Prozac got into my system - My Dr. made it clear to me, that I should not hesitate in using it to lower the insomnia and jaw clenching that his patients normally have, until the medication gets into my system. That "lump in throat" I suspect, as was my case, is being caused by the initial "Energizing effects" - which is causing temporary anxiety.

Once I started taking Klonopin at night - on a regular basis - these side effects quickly diminished and became non-issues. I would agree with your Dr. you need to take it every night for at least the first 30 days, Klonopin is not just a sleeping aid, it actually reduces muscle tension at night, that is a normal side effect of Prozac.

So, are these side effects too much or should I just keep going ? My pdoc tells me to not be a hero but I'm afraid of starting another SSRI because i am very sensitive to SSRIs and have had bad reactions to a few.

I was also thinking that maybe this generic is causing most of the side effects because I took another generic for a few months approx. 10 years ago and did not have these side effects at all. Maybe a switch to Prozac would make a difference?

I would really give it a good shot and not quit - there are big advantages of Prozac over most of the other SSRI, - as with my experience - you will need to temporarily use the Klonopin each night - until the Prozac starts working - again it was about 30-40 days to really feel the benefits for me.

Brand vs. Generic - at this low dosage 10mg - I would not be concerned for now.

Please give your klonopin an opportunity to help you transition into Prozac, your doctor seems to do know what his talking about

Hope this helps, I would suggest you listen to your Dr. and take the Klonopin at night for the next few nights and let me know how you feel.

I am on Fluoxetine now at 45mg-50mg with my own issues, but the drug overall isn't bad. It is energizing, so some people do take it in the morning. I personally take it at night and sleep OK, but if I try to nap during the day it is difficult to fall asleep. And when I wake in the morning, I cannot fall back asleep, even if I want to.

For a sleep aid, I did take Melatonin (3mg) for awhile, which can be purchased online and at health food stores. My Psychiatrist said it was fine to take. Just try not to depend on it all of the time to fall asleep. Just use it as your body adjusts to the medicine and on nights where you feel that you may have issues with sleeping that night.

I believe exercise also helped me. I'd workout sometime after work and this would help drain some of the energy from me. I lift weights (No running - I hate it!) for about an hour or so three days on, one day off.

Also, try some of the White Noise applications that you can download onto your phone. The sound of rain makes me sleepy and helps me stay asleep (In my opinion). So I downloaded an application on my Samsung Galaxy s3 that has the sound of a rain storm (I turned the thunder down to a minimum so it sounds far away) on the beach. I just downloaded a new one onto my Kindle Fire that has the sound of rain while inside of a car, so I feel like that'll be my new vice.

Your post offers good natural strategies, employing any one of them can really help.

I would like to share an outstanding book - that I am currently applying along with my Prozac with very good results:

The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression without Drugs. I found this book on Amazon with very high ratings from the readers.

Using some of these natural strategies - I have successfully reduced my Prozac intake from 40 mg / day to 20 mg /day over the last several months. I am working with my doctor on the goal of completely getting off Prozac (been on it for over 10 years) completely to get rid the sexual side effects of Prozac... but we will see.... If the natural Omega 3 at a high dosages can actually replace Prozac...

These six elements form the core of a breakthrough treatment for depression, Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC), developed by my clinical research team at the University of Kansas. TLC is a natural approach to healing depression, with no side effects and no insurance forms to file.

Your post offers good natural strategies, employing any one of them can really help.

I would like to share an outstanding book - that I am currently applying along with my Prozac with very good results:

The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression without Drugs. I found this book on Amazon with very high ratings from the readers.

Using some of these natural strategies - I have successfully reduced my Prozac intake from 40 mg / day to 20 mg /day over the last several months. I am working with my doctor on the goal of completely getting off Prozac (been on it for over 10 years) completely to get rid the sexual side effects of Prozac... but we will see.... If the natural Omega 3 at a high dosages can actually replace Prozac...

These six elements form the core of a breakthrough treatment for depression, Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC), developed by my clinical research team at the University of Kansas. TLC is a natural approach to healing depression, with no side effects and no insurance forms to file.

Again, all this shared information, in hopes that it may be of help to anyone who is willing to put a little more work and help themselves without the use of meds.

But in closing - Prozac has been a life saver for me! It works! Real life results are difficult to argue with

Hope this post helps!

No problem! I like natural alternatives, but when I tried St. John's Wort and other herbal remedies *ONLY* I hit a road black and had to go back to pharmaceuticals to balance myself out. But I do want to get off of them eventually.

As for the sexual side effects from SSRIs, which are pretty bad, I've been taking L-Arginine powder, which is a precursor for NO which is needed for getting a... well, you know. I mix around 5g in orange juice and it dissolves easily. Also, Maca Root has been said to help with libido and SSRI-induced sexual side effects. I was taking that as well but stopped because I felt like I was doing too much simultaneously. The good thing about Maca Root is that it's not a vitamin or anything, it's a food that they encapsulate or grind into powder (I suggest capsules, though. I've heard the taste of the powder is terrible).

I'm going to look into that book that you posted. I am always looking at ways to get rid of this. I feel like I am on the right path right now. I feel a bit better, but now I am having some side effects since I've increased it from 40mg to 50mg, such as muscle spasms that are worrisome. I feel a bit out of it, not like I was before... Like, I am more alert, but still feel out of it. Like I am stoned, I guess.

As for Omega 3's, I take Pacific Coast Nutrilabs Fish Oil Platinum. I found it on Amazon and it seemed to have a good concentration of EPA and DHA for the cost. Plus, I don't really get those fishy burps with this product compared to the other ones that I've tried. So, 2g of that a day, maybe a little bit more if I feel sore.

I also take Juice+, which my Father distributes. It's fruits and vegetables grounded up into powdered form and put into capsules, so that's how I get my vitamins. My diet on top of it is pretty good, abstaining from soda most of the time (I'll steal a sip from my fiancee from time to time) and such. It's mainly water for me.